Designer Sandra Sandor's label Nanushka is based in Buda, Hungary. She studied fashion design at the lcf and started her own label in 2006. Her clothes are very varied and appeal to a lot of different people.
Designer Sandra Sandor's label Nanushka is based in Buda, Hungary. She studied fashion design at the lcf and started her own label in 2006. Her clothes are very varied and appeal to a lot of different people.
Designer Sandra Sandor's label Nanushka is based in Buda, Hungary. She studied fashion design at the lcf and started her own label in 2006. Her clothes are very varied and appeal to a lot of different people.
Designers in Hungary Part VIII: Sandra Sndor & her label Nanushka he light and airy shop tucked away near Castle Hill in Buda makes visitors want to linger and browse through the many and varied items of clothing thanks to its friendly atmosphere. This is the home of designer Sandra Sndors label Nanushka. Despite being busy renovating the shop and designing clothes, she was happy to make time to talk about fashion, her inspirations and life abroad.
How did you get involved in fashion design?
Somehow through my mother, who worked with childrens clothing. It wasnt immediately clear that it was what I wanted to do. It developed with time. Im not a classic designer. I was even bad at drawing but in middle school I decided to give it a go. As I child I attended an American school in Portugal, and, as it was possible for me to study abroad, thats what I decided to do. I studied for four years at the London College of Fashion and graduated in 2006. And what happened after that? Things moved very fast. I developed my 2006 degree project, Spring Summer SS2006, further and made it into a collection. An American distributor saw my work and took on the label. He now represents me at ten shops in the USA and ensures that there is big demand for my designs. How would you describe your style?
How do you put a new collection together?
The inspiration can come from many different sources. I design the clothes together with my colleague Eszter, but my other eight colleagues collect ideas on our many journeys, take photos, leaf through old fashion books, look on the internet, read fashion blogs and go to fabric exhibitions. That results in something. Then we think about how many coats, skirts, tops, etcetera we need, establish the motifs, look for the right fabrics and bring it all together. Basically its teamwork. Are your collections based on a certain theme? No, not really. There are recurrent motifs which we carry over from popular pieces but there is no common theme. I would find a single theme much too boring. My clothes are very varied and appeal to a lot of different people. Generally there are several motifs that recur rather than one characteristic motif. It is also a greater challenge to work with several guiding ideas.
and Asia. I hope that in the future we will
be able to conquer the markets of some more countries. I would like to be present everywhere. Ive had a website right from the start and soon it will be possible to order online. Perhaps that will make it easier to break into the European market. How long has the shop been open? Since the beginning in 2006. And this is our first renovation (laughs). Previously the shop was darker with less display space because we also worked here. Now we work in a side room. Its really great now: light and friendly. Do you have many customers who simply come across your shop by chance or are most people looking for it specifically?
How many copies do you produce of the
clothes in each collection? Do you also make one-off pieces? We make between 50 and 250 of each piece in the collection, differing in size and colour. Since, as I mentioned, the USA is an important customer, we have sizes from XS to XL. At the start we also made from two to ten one-off pieces but we no longer have time for that. And what about Europe? Unfortunately there still isnt a single shop selling only our clothes. Our clothes are, however, sold in designer shops in Japan, Canada, France, Italy and Russia. At the moment we are mainly present in larger regions such as the USA, the Middle East
We have both kinds of customers. We advertise
in international trade periodicals and magazines. They are read by tourists who visit the shop and mostly buy something. But there are still more Hungarians than foreigners. Generally they are aged between 25 and 30. Nanushka clothes are also sold in other shops in Budapest such as RetrockDeluxe, Mono and MyDay. That enables us to reach more people. What is the secret of your success? Its difficult to say exactly. Perhaps its because, coming from Budapest, we are regarded as something of a curiosity. A Hungarian label is something a bit different. But I might be wrong about that. In any case it isnt a problem that we are Hungarians. I think we can compete on equal terms internationally. What does fashion mean to you?
It has four main aspects or pillars, so to
speak: comfort, functionality, playfulness and tradition. I based my degree project on those and in a certain way such elements run through all my collections. They blend and change somewhat but they are always visibly there. At the moment we are using ethno and folk elements in the new collection.
Design and fashion is an expression of courage,
self-confidence and taste for me. Its a medium that shows who and what I am. Ines Gruber
And how is that expressed in your designs and
materials? We use a lot of contrasts. For example, we make a jacket from cotton, play with the cut and try to make it a little unconventional. We reference traditions, while playfulness gives the piece of clothing that extra something. Comfort and functionality are very important to me personally. People should feel good in their clothes. Thats why we tend to use natural fibres: cotton, linen and silk or modern active-wear fabrics, which are synthetic but comfortable to wear because of small breathing holes in the material.
About Sandra Sndor
Sandra Sndor (right) graduated from the London College of Fashion in 2006, specialising in fashion design and technology. In the same year she won the Fashion Award Hungary for best young designer of the year. That was followed by the Ernst and Young promise of the future award in 2008 and the Glamor award for woman of the year in 2009. Sndor takes part twice a year in the Train Show and Coterie in New York. Nanushka District I, Csnak utca 9 Tel. (06-1) 202-1050 Open Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm. Closed at weekends. www.nanushka.hu